Mobile communication terminal apparatus

ABSTRACT

A mobile communication terminal apparatus having a communication function, the mobile communication terminal apparatus includes: a light emitting unit configured to indicate call incoming information or mail receiving information by light emission; a notification setting unit configured to set whether to indicate at least one of the call incoming information and the mail receiving information by using at least one of a sound and a vibration; a brightness detecting unit, which detects a brightness when the notification setting unit set to not indicate by using both of the sound and the vibration; and a light-emission control unit, which controls the light emitting unit to not emit light, when the notification setting unit set to not indicate by both the sound and the vibration by the notification setting unit and when the brightness detected by the brightness detecting unit is a predetermined brightness or less.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/167,580, filed on Jun. 23, 2011, which claims priority from JapanesePatent Application No. 2010-145752 filed on Jul. 28, 2010, the entiresubject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a mobile communication terminalapparatus having a silent mode function.

Recently, mobile communication terminal apparatus capable of outgoingand receiving calls or transmitting and receiving mails has a so-calledmanner mode for the notification of the incoming call or the mailreception by a vibration produced by a vibrator or the like, not by asound.

The mobile communication terminal apparatus also has a so-called silentmode, in which the incoming call or the mail reception is indicated onlyby light emission, not by the vibration and the sound.

However, since a mobile communication terminal apparatus set in a mannermode or a silent mode indicates the outgoing and receiving calls or thetransmitting and receiving mails by the light emission, it is notpreferable to use the manner mode or the silent mode in places such as atheater, etc, where light emitting to the environment is not preferable.

For example, JP-A-2008-022406 describes a mobile phone which does notindicate an incoming call if setting is performed to suppress not only asound and vibration but also the light emission.

SUMMARY

However, in the case of the mobile phone described in JP-A-2008-022406,if the setting is set to not indicate incoming call once, the incomingcall is not indicated until the setting is changed again. Therefore, inorder to indicate incoming call, it is required to operate to change thesetting.

The present invention is to provide a mobile communication terminalapparatus having a silent mode capable of indicating according to thesituation of the environment.

The mobile communication terminal apparatus according to theillustrative aspect includes: a light emitting unit configured toindicate call incoming information or mail receiving information bylight emission; a notification setting unit configured to set whether toindicate at least one of the call incoming information and the mailreceiving information by using at least one of a sound and a vibration;a brightness detecting unit, which detects a brightness when thenotification setting unit set to not indicate by using both of the soundand the vibration; and a light-emission control unit, which controls thelight emitting unit to not emit light, when the notification settingunit set to not indicate by both the sound and the vibration by thenotification setting unit and when the brightness detected by thebrightness detecting unit is a predetermined brightness or less.

The mobile communication terminal apparatus according to theillustrative aspect includes the brightness detecting unit and thelight-emission control unit, and can be set in the silent mode to detectthe brightness of the environment by the brightness detecting unit andcontrol the light emission of the light emitting unit according to thedetection result as needed. Therefore, in a case where the environmentis too dark and thus it is not preferable to emit the light, it ispossible to control the light emitting unit to not emit the light.Further, since the light is not emitted, a consumed power can bereduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a mobilephone terminal apparatus according to an illustrative embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the mobilephone terminal apparatus according to the illustrative embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of acontrol unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a program applied when a mail isreceived;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a program applied when checking anunread mail;

FIG. 6A is a perspective view illustrating the appearance of the mobilephone terminal apparatus 100 indicating a screen for setting a silentmode, and FIG. 6B is a perspective view illustrating the appearance ofthe mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 indicating a setting screen forselecting whether to allow a light emitting unit to emit light in thedark places;

FIG. 7 is a portion of a flow chart illustrating a program applied whena call is received;

FIG. 8 is portion of the flow chart illustrating the program appliedwhen the call is received; and

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a program applied when checking amissed call.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A mobile communication terminal apparatus according to an illustrativeaspect of the present invention will be described.

Configuration

The mobile communication terminal apparatus according to theillustrative aspect of the present invention is a terminal apparatus,which includes a light emitting unit and is capable of communicationwith the outside. The mobile communication terminal apparatus may be amobile phone terminal apparatus, a personal handy-phone system (PHS), apersonal digital assistant (PDA) capable of communication with theoutside, etc.

Hereinafter, a configuration of a mobile phone terminal apparatusaccording to the illustrative embodiment of the mobile communicationterminal apparatus will be described.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a mobilephone terminal apparatus. FIG. 1 shows a straight-type mobile phoneterminal apparatus 100 having a touch panel in a display unit 102, as anexample. The touch panel may be configured by various types, such as acapacitive type, a resistive film type, an optical type, an ultrasonictype, an ultrasonic surface acoustic wave type, an infrared-ray blockingtype, an electromagnetic induction type, an image recognition type, etc.

The mobile phone terminal apparatus of the illustrative embodiment, asdescribed above, is the straight-type mobile phone terminal apparatus100. However, a folding-type mobile phone terminal apparatus, aslide-type mobile phone terminal apparatus, or the like may be used.

The appearance of the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 as shown inFIG. 1 includes a lamp 101, a display unit 102, a light sensor 103, anear piece (receiver) 104, a mouth piece (microphone) 105, and anoperation unit 106.

The lamp 101 is configured to emit light to the outside to inform a userof call incoming information such as a call being received, a missedcall exiting, and the like, or mail receiving information such as areceived new mail, existence of a missed mail, and the like. The lamp101 can also inform the user of the time for an alarm date and time orthe like. The lamp 101 is configured by a light emitting element such asan LED or the like. The lamp 101 may be an LED lamp, etc. The lamp 101is turned on and is flashed to emit light to indicate the user.

The display unit 102 displays various kinds of information 107 toperform the functions of the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100. Thevarious kinds of information 107 may include an electrical wave signalstrength 107 a, a remaining battery level 107 b, a date 107 c, and atime 107 d, as shown in FIG. 1. The various kinds of information 107 mayfurther include a function menu, an address book, a received-callhistory, a made-call history, a transmitted-mail history, areceived-mail history, text data and image data stored in a data folder,and so on. The display unit 102 may be a liquid crystal display unit, anorganic electro-luminescence (EL) display unit, a plasma display unit,an electronic paper, etc. In a case where the display unit 102 is aliquid crystal display unit, a backlight of the display unit 102 emitslight to display the various kinds of information 107. In a case wherethe display unit 102 is an organic EL display unit, a luminescentmaterial of the display unit 102 emits light to display the variouskinds of information 107.

In the case of FIG. 1, the display unit 102 includes a touch panel inputunit. The touch panel input unit appears on a portion of the displayunit 102 depending on the situation.

The light sensor 103 functions as a brightness detecting unit to detectthe brightness of the environment. The light sensor 103 is disposed inthe upper portion of the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 in FIG. 1.The position is not limited thereto. The light sensor 103 is set inanywhere, in which the surrounding environment can be accuratelydetected. However, in the illustrative embodiment, the lamp 101 is alsodisposed in the upper portion of the mobile phone terminal apparatus100. The light sensor 103 is disposed in a vicinity of the lightemitting unit. Accordingly, the light sensor 103 can accurately detectwhether to allow the light emission by the lamp 101. The light sensor103 may be a light sensor using a photo transistor, a photo diode, etc.

The light sensor 103 is used to indicate the call incoming informationor the mail receiving information when the silent mode is set. The lightsensor 103 may be used in other cases.

The ear piece 104 has a function of outputting a sound to the outsidebased on a control signal from a control unit 108 to be described below.The ear piece 104 may output a voice of an intended party.

The mouth piece 105 may be a microphone or the like, and has a functionof inputting a sound from the outside, such as a voice, etc. The mouthpiece 105 outputs the input sound as an analog signal to an A/Dconverter.

The operation units 106 receive operations input by the user. Theoperation of the user received by the operation units 106 is input as asignal to the control unit 108. In the case of FIG. 1, the operationunits 106 have a button shape, which are pushed to perform theoperation.

The mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 includes a speaker (Not shown inFIG. 1). The speaker can inform the user of the call incominginformation, the mail receiving information, the time for the alarm dateand time, and the like by melodies, a ring tone, etc. The position ofthe speaker is not limited in detail, but the speaker may be provided inthe front, side, or back of the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the mobilephone terminal apparatus 100.

A vibrating unit 109 produces mechanical vibration based on a controlsignal from the control unit 108. The vibrating unit 109 may beconfigured by a motor, etc., and inform the user of the call incominginformation, the mail receiving information, the time for the alarm dateand time, and the like by the mechanical vibration.

A read only memory (ROM) 110 stores a program, data, and the like toperform various processes provided in the mobile phone terminalapparatus 100.

A random access memory (RAM) 111 is accessible from the control unit108, and is used as a temporary storage area (also called as a bufferarea) for the control unit 108 to perform various processes.

A wireless circuit 112 performs a demodulating process and a decodingprocess on a predetermined high-frequency signal input from an antenna113 to convert the predetermined high-frequency signal into a digitalvoice signal. Also, the wireless circuit 112 performs an encodingprocess and a modulating process on a digital voice signal input fromthe control unit 108 to convert the digital voice signal into ahigh-frequency signal. Then, the wireless circuit 112 outputs thehigh-frequency signal to the antenna 113.

The antenna 113 receives a signal in a predetermined frequency band,converts the received signal into a high-frequency signal, and outputs ahigh-frequency signal to the wireless circuit 112. Also, the antenna 113receives a high-frequency signal output from the wireless circuit 112,converts the high-frequency signal into a signal in the predeterminedfrequency band, and outputs the converted signal.

The control unit 108 controls software and hardware provided in themobile phone terminal apparatus 100. For example, the control unit 108detects input operation on the touch panel input unit of the displayunit 102, the operation units 206, or the like by the user, and performsvarious functions of the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100. Thecontrol unit 108 executes a program stored in the mobile phone terminalapparatus 100 in cooperation with the ROM 110 or the RAM 111.

The control unit 108 may be a control CPU.

FIG. 3 shows the control unit 108 of FIG. 2 in detail. As shown in FIG.3, the control unit 108 includes a brightness determining unit 114, alight-emission control unit 115, a speaker control unit 116, and avibration control unit 117.

The brightness determining unit 114 determines whether the brightness ofthe environment detected by the light sensor 103 is a predeterminedthreshold value or less. The predetermined threshold value may bechanged by an operation of the user.

One predetermined threshold value may be set, but a plurality ofpredetermined threshold values may be set. For example, the plurality ofpredetermined threshold values may be set, when a first brightness,which is a predetermined threshold value used for the light-emissioncontrol unit 115 (to be described below) to determine the brightness ofthe environment, is different from a second threshold value, which is apredetermined threshold value used for the light-emission control unit115 to determine again the brightness of the environment after thelight-emission control unit 115 determines the brightness of theenvironment is the first brightness or less.

The first brightness and the second brightness may be equal to eachother. However, in a case where the first brightness is greater than thesecond brightness, the light-emission control unit 115 can quicklydetect the change in the brightness of the environment and can quicklycontrol the light emission. Meanwhile, in a case where the firstbrightness is less than the second brightness, the light-emissioncontrol unit 115 is likely to maintain the previous mode and is notaffected by a slight change in the brightness.

The predetermined threshold values are used in a flow (step S7 of FIG. 4and step S11 of FIG. 5) regarding the call incoming information and aflow (step S26 of FIG. 7 and step S40 of FIG. 9) regarding the mailreceiving information (to be described below), and the threshold valuesmay be equal to and may be different from each other.

The light-emission control unit 115 controls the light emission of alight emitting unit based on the determination result of the brightnessdetermining unit 114. For example, in the case of the mobile phoneterminal apparatus 100 of FIG. 1, the control unit 108 controls thelight emission of the lamp 101 and the display unit 102 which are thelight emitting units. When the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 isset in a silent mode and the brightness detected by the light sensor 103is the predetermined threshold value or less, the light-emission controlunit 115 can control the lamp 101 and the display unit 102 to not emitthe light. Therefore, the consumed power of the mobile phone terminalapparatus 100 can be reduced more sufficiently. The light emissioncontrolled by the light-emission control unit 115 also includes lightemission other than the light emission to indicate the call incominginformation or the mail receiving information (for example, lightemission for the notification of the time for the alarm date and time,or the like).

In the silent mode, the speaker control unit 116 controls the speaker tonot make a sound, and the vibration control unit 117 controls thevibrating unit 109 to not vibrate.

The above description is based the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100having the touch panel input unit, as one example. However, the mobilephone terminal apparatus 100 may have a key input unit instead of thetouch panel input unit. In a case where the key input unit emits lightin response to an operation of the user, if the mobile phone terminalapparatus 100 is set in the silent mode and the brightness detected bythe light sensor 103 is the predetermined threshold or less, thelight-emission control unit 115 can control not only the lamp 101 andthe display unit 102 but also key input unit, so as to not emit light.

The control of the light emitting units by the light-emission controlunit 115 can produce greatly the above-mentioned effect on a terminalwhich has a light emitting unit emitting a larger amount of light (forexample, a terminal having a larger-sized display unit or having two ormore displays, etc.).

Operation Process

Next, a program to execute a mail receiving process will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The mobile phone terminal apparatushaving the straight type and having a touch panel, as shown in FIG. 1,is illustrated as one example.

First, in step S1, a mail is received. Then, it is detected whether themobile phone terminal apparatus 100 is set in the silent mode, in stepS2. For example, the silent mode is set by selecting the silent mode ona selection screen 118 displayed on the display unit 102 by an operationof the user, as shown in FIG. 6A. A unit of the mobile phone terminalapparatus 100 for setting the silent mode is referred to as anotification setting unit.

When it is detected that the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 is setin the silent mode (Yes, in step S2), it is detected whether the mobilephone terminal apparatus 100 is set to not emit the light in the darkplaces, in step S3. For example, in the case of the mobile phoneterminal apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1, it is detected whether both ofthe lamp 101 and the display unit 102 are set to not emit the light inthe dark places. The setting to not emit the light in the dark placesmay be set by an option selecting for preventing light emission in thedark places on the selection screen 118 displayed on the display unit102 by the operation of the user, as shown in FIG. 6B.

Meanwhile, when it is not detected that the mobile phone terminalapparatus 100 is set in the silent mode (No, in step S2), the mailreception is indicated by a sound or a vibration, in step S4. In FIG. 4,a flow after step S4 is omitted. Additionally, after step S4, if achecking operation of a received mail and a missed call is detected, thenotification by the sound or vibration terminates. Meanwhile, when theoperation is not detected, the notification continues until checkingoperation of an unread mail or a missed call is detected, and if thechecking operation of is detected, the notification terminates.

When it is detected that the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 is setto not emit the light in the dark places (Yes, in step S3), in step S5,it is detected whether the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 is set toindicate the mail reception by the light emission. If the mail receptionis indicated by the light emission, the mobile phone terminal apparatus100 is set to make the lamp flash when a mail is received.

Meanwhile, when it is not detected that the mobile phone terminalapparatus 100 is set to not emit the light in the dark places (No, instep S3), since the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 is in a normalsilent mode, the mail reception is indicated by the light emission, instep S6. In FIG. 4, a flow after step S6 is omitted. After step S6, whenthe checking operation of a received mail and a missed call is detected,the notification by the light emission terminates. Meanwhile, when theoperation is not detected, the notification continues until checkingoperation of an unread mail or a missed call is detected. After that,when the checking operation is detected, the notification terminate.

When it is detected that the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 is setto indicate the mail reception by the light emission (Yes, in step S5),it is detected whether the environment of the mobile phone terminalapparatus 100 is bright, in step S7. Specifically, it is detectedwhether the brightness detected by the light sensor 103 is greater thanthe predetermined threshold value or not. Meanwhile, when it is notdetected that the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 is set to indicatethe mail reception by the light emission (No, in step S5), that is,setting for indicating the mail reception by the light emission themobile phone terminal apparatus 100 has not been set, the mobile phoneterminal apparatus 100 does not emit the light, in step S9.

In a case where the environment of the mobile phone terminal apparatus100 is bright, that is, the brightness of the environment is greaterthan the predetermined threshold value (Yes, in step S7), the mailreception is indicated by the light emission, in step S8. Meanwhile, ina case where the environment of the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100is dark, that is, the brightness of the environment is the predeterminedthreshold value or less (No, in step S7), the mobile phone terminalapparatus 100 does not emit the light, in step S9.

After steps S8 and S9, it is detected whether to indicate a receivedmail, which has not been checked yet, that is, an unread mail by thelight emission, as in step S10 shown in FIG. 5. An example of settingsto indicate the unread mail by the light emission is a setting forcontrolling the lamp to flash when there is an unread mail.

In the above examples, the setting for the notification of the existenceof the unread mail and the setting for the notification of the receivedmail are separately set. However, the setting for the notification of anunread mail and the setting for the notification of a received mail areset together (for example, as a notification lamp setting, etc). In thiscase, if the lamp setting is switched to ON, the setting is set toindicate both of a received mail and an unread mail, and if the lampsetting is switched to OFF, the setting is set to not indicate both of areceived mail and an unread mail from being indicated.

When it is detected that the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 is setto indicate the unread mail by the light emission (Yes, in step S10,like the case of the step S7, it is detected whether the environment ofthe mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 is bright or not, in step S11.

Meanwhile, when it is not detected that the mobile phone terminalapparatus 100 is set to indicate the unread mail by the light emission(No, in step S10), the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 does not emitthe light, in step S12. A flow after step S12 will be described below.

In a case where the environment of the mobile phone terminal apparatus100 is bright, that is, the brightness of the environment is greaterthan the predetermined threshold value (Yes, in step S11), the unreadmail is indicated by the light emission, in step S13. Meanwhile, in acase where the environment of the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 isdark, that is, the brightness of the environment is the predeterminedthreshold value or less (No, in step S11), the mobile phone terminalapparatus 100 does not emit the light, in step S14.

After steps S13 and S14, it is detected whether the checking operationof all of the unread mails has been performed, in step S15.

Here, with respect to the unread mail, the checking operation may meanselecting an icon indicating existence of an unread mail displayed on astandby screen and starting a received-mail history screen, and etc.Also, with respect to the missed call, the checking operation (to bedescribed below) may mean selecting an icon indicating existence of amissed call displayed on the standby screen and the starting areceived-call history screen, and etc.

The above-mentioned checking operation of all of the unread mail maymean checking operation of all of three unread mails when the number ofunread mails is three, for example.

Additionally, a plurality of predetermined threshold values fordetermining the brightness of the environment may be set as theabove-mentioned first brightness and second brightness.

When it is detected that the checking operation of all of the unreadmails (Yes, in step S15), it is detected whether a missed call exists,in step S16. Step S16 is configured to follow when information to beindicated other than the unread mails exists. Meanwhile, it is notdetected the checking operation of all of the unread mails (No, in stepS15), the flow returns to step S11, and it is detected whether theenvironment of the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 is bright or not.

As described above, when it is not detected that the checking operationof all unread mails in step S15, the flow returns to step S11.Therefore, when the brightness of the environment of the mobile phoneterminal apparatus 100 is changed, it is possible to change whether toindicate the unread mail by the light emission or not, according to thechange in the brightness of the environment. For example, even when themobile phone terminal apparatus 100 having the unread mail exists in atheater, the light is not emitted in the theater. However, when themobile phone terminal apparatus 100 is brought to the outside of thedark place, the flow proceeds from step S15 to step S11, and the lightsensor 103 detects the brightness of the environment such that it ispossible to quickly indicate the unread mail by the light emission.Therefore, in the environment where the light emission is allowed, it ispossible to quickly indicate the existence of the unread mail to theuser.

When a missed call is detected (Yes, in step S16), the flow proceeds tostep S38 of FIG. 9 to be described below. A flow after step S38illustrates a process in a case where a missed call exists. Even whenchecking the unread mails finishes, if a missed call exists, the flowproceeds from step S15 to step S38 through step S16, such that it ispossible to indicate the existence of the missed call.

Meanwhile, when any missed call is not detected (No, in step S16), thatis, information to be indicated other than the unread mail does notexist, the notification terminates, in step S17.

After step S12, like in step S15, it is detected whether the checkingoperation of all of the unread mails has been performed, in step S18.When it is detected that the checking operation of all of the unreadmails has been performed (Yes, in step S18), like in step S16, it isdetermined whether any missed call exists, in step S19. Meanwhile, whenit is not detected that the checking operation of all of the unreadmails has been performed (No, in step S18), the flow returns to stepS12.

When a missed call is detected (Yes, in step S19), the flow proceeds tostep S38 of FIG. 9 (to be described below), and when any missed call isnot detected (No, in step S19), the notification terminates in step S17.

Next, a program for a call receiving process will be described withreference to FIGS. 7 to 9. FIGS. 7 and 8 show a flow regarding theincoming call, and FIG. 9 shows a flow when a missed call exists afterthe incoming call.

Steps S20, S21, S23, and S25 are the same as steps S1, S2, S4, and S6except that the notification subject is the incoming call or the mailreception. Accordingly, a detailed description thereof is omitted.

when it is detected that the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 is setto indicate incoming call by the light emission (Yes, in step S24), itis detected whether the environment of the mobile phone terminalapparatus 100 is bright, in step S26.

Meanwhile, when it is not detected where the mobile phone terminalapparatus 100 is set to indicate incoming call by the light emission(No, in step S24), the light is not emitted in step S33 as shown in FIG.8, and thereafter, the operation for taking the call is detected, instep S34. The operation for taking the call means an operation such aspushing a button for a phone conversation, etc. In this case, althoughthe notification by the light emission is not being performed, if theuser find the incoming call and the operation for taking the call isdetected (Yes, in step S34), the flow proceeds to a call taking processof step S35.

The call taking process of step S35 means a process from pushing a callstart button to take the call to pushing a call terminating button toterminate the call.

Meanwhile, if the operation for taking the call is not detected (No, instep S34), it is detected whether incoming call from a caller hasterminated, in step S36. If the termination of the incoming call isdetected (Yes, in step S36), the flow proceeds to step S38 as shown inFIG. 9. Meanwhile, if termination of the incoming call is not detected(No, in step S36), the flow returns to step S33.

Steps S26, S27, and S28 are the same as steps S7, S8, and S9 except thatthe notification subject is the incoming call or the mail reception.Accordingly, a detailed description thereof is omitted.

After steps S27 and 28, the operation for taking the call is detected instep S29.

If the operation for taking the call is detected (Yes, in step S29), theflow proceeds to the call taking process of step S30, and then it isdetected whether any missed call exists in step S37 of FIG. 9.

Meanwhile, if the operation for taking the call is not detected (No, instep S29), it is detected whether the incoming call from the caller hasterminated, in step S31.

If the termination of the incoming call is detected (Yes, in step S31),in a case where the incoming call is being indicated, the notificationof the incoming call terminates in step S32. Then, it is detectedwhether any missed call exists in step S37 of FIG. 9.

Meanwhile, if the termination of the incoming call is not detected (No,in step S31), the flow returns to step S26, and it is detected whetherthe environment of the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100 is bright.

As described above, if the termination of the incoming call is notdetected in step S31, the flow returns to step S26 such that, when thebrightness of the environment of the mobile phone terminal apparatus 100is changed, it is possible to change whether to indicate the incomingcall by the light emission, according to the change in the brightness.For example, when the incoming call is received in a dark place such asa theater or the like, the light is not emitted as described in stepS28. Further, even when the operation for taking the call by the user isdetected in step S29, if the termination of the incoming call is notdetected in step S31, it is detected in step S26 again whether theenvironment is bright. At this time, if the mobile phone terminalapparatus 100 moves from the dark place to a bright place, the incomingcall is indicated by the light emission. Therefore, the user can findthe incoming call and quickly take the call.

In a case where the existence of the missed call is detected in step S37of FIG. 9 (Yes, in step S37), in step S38, it is detected whether toindicate the missed call by the light emission. Meanwhile, in a casewhere the existence of any missed call is not detected (No, in stepS37), it is detected whether any unread mail exists, in step S39.

In a case where the existence of an unread mail is detected (Yes, instep S39), the flow proceeds to step S10 of FIG. 5. Meanwhile, in a casewhere the existence of any unread mail is not detected (No, in stepS39), the flow proceeds to step S17 of FIG. 5 and terminates thenotification.

Steps S38, and S40 to S47 are the same as steps S11, and S13 to S18except that the notification subject is the missed call or the unreadmail. Accordingly, a description thereof is omitted.

If the existence of the unread mail is detected in step S45, the flowproceeds to step S10 of FIG. 5. Meanwhile, if the existence of anyunread mail is not detected in step S45, the flow proceeds to step S17of FIG. 5, and the notification terminates.

If the existence of the unread mail is detected in step S47, the flowproceeds to step S10 of FIG. 5. Meanwhile, if the existence of anyunread mail is not detected in step S47, the flow proceeds to step S17of FIG. 5, and the notification terminates.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile communication terminal apparatus havinga communication function, the mobile communication terminal apparatuscomprising: a light emitting unit configured to indicate call incominginformation or mail receiving information by light emission; abrightness detecting unit, which detects a brightness; and alight-emission control unit, which controls the light emitting unitbased on the detected brightness, wherein the light-emission controlunit controls the light emitting unit to not emit light when thedetected brightness is a first brightness or less, and wherein, after atleast one of incoming call and receiving mail, the light-emissioncontrol unit controls the light emitting unit to emit light when thedetected brightness is greater than a second brightness.
 2. The mobilecommunication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when thelight-emission control unit controls the light emitting unit to not emitlight after at least one of incoming call and receiving mail, thelight-emission control unit controls the light emitting unit to emitlight when the detected brightness is greater than a second brightness.3. The mobile communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the first brightness is different from the second brightness. 4.The mobile communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1,wherein, when a checking operation of at least one of the call incominginformation and the mail receiving information is not detected, thebrightness detecting unit detects the brightness again.
 5. The mobilecommunication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when achecking operation of both of the call incoming information and the mailreceiving information is detected, the light-emission control unitcontrols the light emitting unit to not indicate by the light emission.6. The mobile communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the call incoming information indicates that a call is beingreceived.
 7. The mobile communication terminal apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the call incoming information indicates that a call ismissed, and wherein the mail receiving information indicates that anunread mail exists.
 8. The mobile communication terminal apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit is at least one ofa lamp and a display.
 9. The mobile communication terminal apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the brightness detecting unit is disposedin a vicinity of the light emitting unit.
 10. A method of controlling amobile communication terminal apparatus having a communication function,the mobile communication terminal apparatus including: a light emittingunit configured to indicate call incoming information or mail receivinginformation by light emission; a brightness detecting unit; and alight-emission control unit, the method comprising; detecting abrightness by the brightness detecting unit; controlling the lightemitting unit to not emit light when the detected brightness is a firstbrightness or less, and controlling, after at least one of incoming calland receiving mail, the light emitting unit to emit light when thedetected brightness is greater than a second brightness.
 11. A mobilecommunication terminal apparatus having a communication function, themobile communication terminal apparatus comprising: a light emittingunit configured to indicate call incoming information or mail receivinginformation by light emission; a notification setting unit configured toset whether to indicate at least one of the call incoming informationand the mail receiving information by using at least one of a sound anda vibration; a brightness detecting unit, which detects a brightnesswhen the notification setting unit set to not indicate by using the atleast one of the sound and the vibration; and a light-emission controlunit, which controls the light emitting unit to not emit light, when thenotification setting unit set to not indicate by the at least one thesound and the vibration and when the brightness detected by thebrightness detecting unit is a predetermined brightness or less.